Cherry Pie Bars

 

I heard recently about drinking tart cherry juice before bed to help you sleep better and, while I’m not a big fan of juice, I’m here for the ‘cherries help you sleep’ info.

Yes. I’m using that bit of science to justify eating these Cherry Pie Bars before bed. Not that I really needed a justification, considering these bars have a simple butter crust, a thick layer of cherry pie goo, and a crumbly streusel topping.

But, hey, if we can pretend I’m shoving these in my face at 9pm for health reasons, then that’s what we’re going to do, ok?

Of course, these are also great for sharing with friends and family! This recipe for cherry pie bars is made in a casserole dish, which means there is enough to share.

And when I say easy, I mean easy, guys. This one literally has 4 ingredients!

Not into pie bars and want a traditional pie? Try our buttermilk pie or chocolate pecan pie!

Not into pie at all? Try our blueberry crisp recipe or this cherry pineapple dump cake!

???? Ingredient Notes:

Cherry Pie Filling – It doesn’t get much easier than this! Grab a can of cherry pie filling from the store. You probably already have the other ingredients on hand.

Crust & Topping – You’ll need butter, sugar, and flour to make both the crust and topping – all in one bowl! The crust gets pressed into the pan and topping gets sprinkled on, so it’s two different textures, but still the same thing. <— Maximum simplicity.

???? How To Make Cherry Pie Bars:

Prepare the Crust: Add the flour, butter, and sugar to a mixing bowl and use a pastry cutter or a couple of knives to cut the butter into the flour and sugar until you have coarse crumbs.

Note: You can do this with a food processor too, just make sure you don’t overly mix it. You want coarse crumbs.

Bake the Crust: When you’ve finished preparing the crust ingredients you can go ahead and pour half of it into a baking dish. Press the dough firmly into the bottom of the dish and bake it for about ten minutes. This will form the bottom crust layer of the cherry pie bars.

Add the Filling: When the crust has baked for about ten minutes you can remove it from the oven and open up the can of cherry pie filling. Spread the filling over the top of the baked crust. Finally, sprinkle the remaining half of the crumbly crust mixture evenly over the cherry pie filling.

Bake: All that’s left is to finish up the baking. Add the dish back to the oven and let it bake for about an hour or until the crust has started to turn golden on the edges.

Let these cool completely and you can pick them up with your hands for a portable handheld pie. Orrrrr, scoop some out of the dish warm and top it with vanilla ice cream for more of a cherry pie crumble situation. Either way, this stuff is good.

Skip your usual cherry pie recipe. These are just as good and way simpler!

• Strawberry Crostata
• Raspberry Pie
• Apple Pie Bars
• Blueberry Pie Bars
• Pumpkin Crunch Cake